BWI: Citi Micro Entrepreneur Awards Announced the Governing Council for its 2011 Programme

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Citigroup
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 11:50 AM IST (06:20 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy, People; Business: Accounting & management consultancy services, Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Information technology; Technology
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Citi Micro Entrepreneur Awards Announced the Governing Council for its 2011 Programme
The Awards programme received over 800 applications this year

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Wednesday, November 16, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- The Citi Micro Entrepreneur Awards (CMEA), today announced the members of its Governing Council for the 2011 Awards program. Chaired by Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), the Governing Council comprises eminent persons including, for the first time, Mr. Anami Roy, former Director General of Police, Maharashtra, India and the former Police Commissioner of Mumbai; Mr. Haresh Shah, Chairman of Confederation for the Promotion of Khadi and Village Industries; Professor Rakesh Basant, Head, Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) along with Ms Radhika Haribhakti, Chairperson, Swadhaar Fin Access and Ms Shabana Azmi, Social Activist and noted actor who have been on past councils.

CMEA received over 800 applications, from 77 nominating organizations, this year. The program, now in its eighth year, has honored 77 exemplary micro-entrepreneurs who have overcome economic and social challenges to successfully build self-sustaining micro enterprises, from a total of more than 6000 entries received since its inception. 48% of the winners have been women.

Speaking at the Governing Council meeting, Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) said,

"Microenterprises have been a key contributor to the socio-economic development of India. Even so, the achievements of the micro enterprise sector often go unrecognized. Initiatives such as the Citi Micro Entrepreneur Awards play a key role in recognizing micro-entrepreneurs - ordinary people, who through extraordinary perseverance, innovation and outstanding performance have broken out of poverty, created jobs, fostered enterprise, added value to society and emerged as outstanding citizens. I am happy to be part of this initiative which seeks to bring about change at the grassroots of our economy."

This year, Citi India is partnering with Friends of Women's World Banking (FWWB), India for the awards program, which is implemented annually with grant support from Citi Foundation, USA.

Together, Citi and FWWB will honor 9 individual micro-entrepreneurs and 1 community owned enterprise. The individual category will include one National winner, five Regional winners, a Youth entrepreneur, a Green entrepreneur and an Innovative entrepreneur. The winners will be selected across five regions: East, North, North East, South and West and Central. The winners will be felicitated at an awards ceremony to be held on December 5, 2011 in Mumbai.

The 10 winners of the Citi Micro Entrepreneur Awards 2011 will receive cash prizes totaling INR 12.5 lakhs, a trophy and a citation at the awards ceremony. They will also be trained in business development, to enable them to manage their enterprises more efficiently.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter:@Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About Citi Foundation:

The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment and financial inclusion of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving to priority focus areas: Microfinance, Enterprise Development, Youth Education and Livelihoods, and Financial Capability and Asset Building. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Enterprise Development to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.

About FWWB

Friends of Women's World Banking, India is an apex institution funding and nurturing sustainable organizations focused on livelihood promotion and women empowerment since 1982. FWWB's pan India services include, financial support for livelihood enterprises and institution and capacity building, monitoring and assessment services for nascent micro finance institutions and community-based organizations. Along-with improving household income, FWWB has a strong focus on reduction of vulnerability of low income households and provides financial and technical support to Partner Organizations, for on-lending to poor women clients, for getting access to- solar energy light systems; water & sanitation facilities; education loans; awareness on health and hygiene and financial security.



CONTACT DETAILS
Debasis Ghosh, Citi, +91 (22) 4001 5009, debasis.ghosh@citi.com
Pooja Ahluwalia, Citi, +91 124 4186868, pooja.ahluwalia@citi.com
Shreela Roy, IpanhillandKnowlton, +91 9820149119, sroy@ipanhillandknowlton.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, PEOPLE, CONSULTANCY SERVICES, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, IT, TECHNOLOGY

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